


There’s Bones in My Closet (but You Hang Stuff Anyway)

by maleficaster



Series: Shuake Week 2020 [6]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Assassination, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood and Injury, Brief Shido Masayoshi appearance, Brief mention of Morgana, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Murder, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27659960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maleficaster/pseuds/maleficaster
Summary: In all the time Goro has known Akira, he’s never seen him so shaken. In the past, he’d watch as Akira would run into problems in his life, dancing alongside them all with extreme care but playful attitude. Maybe it isn’t a good idea to trust Akira, with his goals so close and Akira’s actions so out of the ordinary it’s suspicious.-[Or, Goro is an assassin for Shido Masayoshi. When he returns home from his most recent mission, he returns to an anxious Akira, ready to run, yet Goro has no idea why.]
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Shuake Week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017268
Comments: 9
Kudos: 148
Collections: Quality Persona Fics





	There’s Bones in My Closet (but You Hang Stuff Anyway)

As Goro’s target crumples to the ground, blood splatter painting the thin layer of snow beneath them, in the distance Goro hears another gunshot go off. 

Even if the gunshot sounds far, he ducks down, sets the sniper rifle to the side and reaches for the pistol hanging off his hip. He needs to get moving soon, for it will not take long for the police to investigate his vantage point, but he waits to be sure that he’s confident that a second shot will not go off. When he’s certain he’s safe to move, he does so, sticking to the shadows as he descends to the lower floors. He makes a brief stop before he exits to quickly remove parts from the snipper and places them in his suitcase, setting his pistol inside next to it, then peeling off the layer of dark clothes and setting them up to cover the damning evidence. His practiced movements make it an easy to transition from suspect to late-night professional. 

As he finds himself a few blocks away from the scene he begins to hear distant sirens approaching what he assumes is the scene of the crime, maybe to two different locations in the vicinity to deal with the reports of multiple gunshots. Regardless, Goro travels along, careful of who he passes until he finds a quiet spot to talk, calling Shido’s most recent phone number, waits for a few rings until it picks up.

“My task is complete, sir,” Goro says.

“...Good work as always, Akechi,” he hears Shido say. “It’s already on the news… but there were reports of another incident nearby.”

“I believe so, but I do not know anything about what happened.”

“I see.” Shido is silent for a few seconds. “Await your next task, as usual.”

“Of course,” Goro says. Shido disconnects, and Goro slides the burner phone into his pocket. Goro wonders if there will really be another task to fulfill, with the election results being counted that very minute, Shido’s victory seemingly in his grasp. By the end of next week Goro hopes the country will be mourning their prime minister, his death certificate printed by Goro’s aim. 

He cannot fail his personal mission, and while he will risk getting caught, he now has something he would like to live for. He imagines Akira, cooking curry in the kitchen, eating dinner together instead of taking the leftovers for lunch, more visits to Jazz Jin and games at Penguin Sniper, regular good morning cuddles and and welcome home kisses, not seeing Akira with a concerned look on his face as he walks through the door, weary from both of his jobs. If he succeeds, for once in his life, Goro thinks the future looks bright.

***

When Goro walks into their apartment he’s expecting Akira to be lounging on the couch, possibly petting their cat Morgana who sits in his lap. Akira would turn to the door with a smile and Goro would walk over, a quick kiss to the lips if Akira was awake, and if he was asleep like he sometimes was, he’d kiss him on the forehead and Morgana would trot into the bedroom, settling on his spot next to Akira’s pillow while waiting for Goro to carry Akira in. 

What he finds tonight is Akira, in a hoodie he was certain had been in the laundry basket over what appears to be a trench coat, duffel bag slung over his shoulder. The hood is pulled up over his head, but Goro can see his glasses are missing, exposing a nervous look, and there’s a couple of scratches next to his lip. In his hand he has another hoodie, his clean one, and tosses it at Goro with shaking hands. “Put that on, we gotta go."

Goro catches the cotton garment, slips it over his head without protest and pulls his arms through the sleeves. “What’s going–”

He feels Akira tug on his hand and starts to pull him back to the door, storming past it and leaving Goro to close it in a rush. It slams shut and Akira pulls him towards the stairwell, and Goro keeps pace behind him. As they walk, Goro watches Akira, notices that despite his hurried steps he walks with a limp, jerky movements with every other step, that his shoulders are tense and feels as his hand coils tighter around his with every passing moment. 

Eventually they reach the bottom floor of their apartment complex, but instead of the front they exit through the back. Akira is vigilant as they walk through the dark streets, embracing shadows and pulling Goro in with him. It feels familiar, and Goro feels a chill and he pulls the hood over his head. 

Eventually they turn into an alleyway and Akira finally lets go of his hand. Goro presses his back against the wall and watches Akira who moves a few empty boxes aside to reveal a sewer grate, reaches out behind the dumpster and pulls out a crow bar which he uses to pry it open. 

“I have a lot of questions,” Goro whispers. 

Akira shrugs, looks down into the hole instead of at him. Akira gestures to the entrance, and Goro sighs and listens to his request. In all the time Goro has known Akira, he’s never seen him so shaken. In the past, he’d watch as Akira would run into problems in his life, dancing alongside them all with extreme care but playful attitude. Maybe it isn’t a good idea to trust Akira, with his goals so close and Akira’s actions so out of the ordinary it’s suspicious. Yet he moves anyway, slides down the ladder and Akira follows in right after him, remaining at the top for a second longer in what Goro assumes is to work on hiding their entrance. 

Eventually he follows and Akira pauses for a minute, a deep exhale before he lets go of the side rails. He unzips the duffel bag and pulls out a singular flashlight sitting on top, flicking the switch on. “Just a little further, then I’ll explain.” He finally says. 

Goro nods, and Akira walks ahead without grabbing Goro’s hand this time. He’s tempted to reach out, but he doesn’t, instead stares at the back of Akira’s head, curls hidden and it makes him wonder about the secrets between them. He clenches his fist, and hopes that he hasn’t risked it all to follow Akira down this unknown rabbit hole.

Akira stops after multiple twists and turns through the sewers, the platform they stand on thicker than their pathway here. Akira sits down and leans back against the wall, sets the flashlight down between them before he pulls a small device out of his pocket, fiddles with it for a while. Goro recognizes it as a GPS tracker just before Akira sets it down to the side. 

“Is that a good idea? I take it we’re trying not to be found,” Goro muses as he sits next to him.

“It’s for help,” Akira says. “Only one person will be able to find us.” He pulls his knees up, rests his arms straight out atop of them, fiddles with the red gloves on his fingers that Goro didn’t know he even owned. Akira doesn’t say a word, his breathing becomes shaky and Akira bows his head. Goro’s stomach sinks, watching as Akira’s eyes close, and Goro wonders if maybe this is really some sort of end. 

After a couple of minutes he opens his eyes again and he pulls his hands apart. He reaches into his pocket, pulling something out. He hands it to Goro without looking at him. 

Goro’s breath stops when he realizes what he’s holding: a white mask, thick black accents around two holes. The only thing that is different is that in the corner of the mask is the hint of what Goro suspects is blood. He’s seen this so many times at the precinct, the identifier of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, a group who steals information from corrupt individuals in power to reveal their misdeeds to the public. They have been around for years, a case that started early in Goro’s detective career. For the last year they had been hunting down every piece of information they could get their hands on about Shido and his collaborators, and between the two jobs he’s never heard the end of their nuisance. 

“What the fuck,” Goro hisses. “Is this some sort of joke?”

“It’s as much of a joke as your night job is,” Akira turns to look Goro in the eye. 

“I don’t have a–”

“I’ve known since June you’re one of Shido’s assassins,” Akira cuts in. This time Goro stays silent and doesn’t protest, watches as Akira hugs his knees. “And I know you were on another assignment tonight.”

Akira lets the quiet settle between the two of them, waits for Goro to say anything. Goro takes a deep breath and sets the mask down beside the flashlight. He wants to ask so many questions: how did Akira find out, why didn’t Akira tell Goro that he knew, why did he not send Goro to prison if he is aware of his list of crimes a mile long, how did Akira hide he was a phantom thief from him so long, how deep does his information network go, how much does he know about Shido, and his past, and so many other questions. He feels sick to his stomach, but doesn’t say a word, knowing that there is a reason Akira is bringing this up now which also means that now is not the time for those questions. He matches Akira’s sitting position, balls his hands into fists, and waits.

“He doesn’t trust you, you know that, right?” Akira glances toward the side again. Another deep inhale. “Your assignment wasn’t the only hit he ordered for tonight. I didn’t know about it until it was almost too late.

“I was only there because we heard he had some sort of ownership over the building and it was suspicious enough, and I knew tonight would be a good night to investigate. But… it wasn’t empty like reported when I got there. I had been expecting that but…” he fidgets with his hands again, starting to pull the gloves off before pulling them back down. “But it wasn’t a security guard. He had a sniper and then I remembered where you were supposed to be in relation to where he was and I heard him reporting to– to someone– and I– I just acted. I was so scared I’d lose you. And I–” 

Akira bites his lip before he buries his face between his knees. He shudders and Goro reaches out to place a hand on his shoulder, moving the mask and flashlight over with his free hand before he scoots next to Akira. Goro has no idea on how Akira knew where he was stationed, what sort of information he has, and he’s never been good at offering comfort but sees that an attempt at it might be what Akira needs.

“I’m sorry,” Goro decides on, reaching his hand to Akira’s opposite shoulder so he can pull him closer. He’s not sorry for what he’s done, but he wishes Akira had never been involved. 

“You’re being silly,” Akira murmurs even if the words make little sense. “I… I just never thought I’d…” Akira shifts so he hugs Goro, knees shifting to awkwardly hit the floor and Goro is quick to recorporiate. “The thieves swore to never kill anyone, no matter how much we sometimes wanted to,” he whispers. Goro feels Akira shaking in his arms. “Will they hate me now? Will you–”

Goro shakes his head and thinks of what his mother did in his youth, stroking his back whenever he had been scared, and he tries to do the same in clumsy movements. The implied confession, in an odd way, makes sense. While the nerves could theoretically be tied with the situation Akira had witnessed, there was possibly a body with evidence left behind at his crime scene; depending on what Akira was forced to leave behind it could point in the thief's direction. Furthermore, the Phantom Thieves had yet to acquire any violent charges, yet there was the odd splatter of blood on the mask, potentially even on the layer of clothes beneath his hoodie, the wounds–

“Your leg,” Goro blurts out. “Is your leg okay?”

Akira shifts beneath him. “I… kind of forgot about that until just now. My doctor’s gonna be pissed I didn’t go to the hospital…”

“Akira, let me see,” Goro demands and he pushes Akira back. He nods and moves again, a couple of winces as he does so. Once Akira has repositioned himself Goro pulls up the pant leg, now noticing the hole on the side, a layer of blood slick just below the knee with a trail further running further down. The wound is deeper than Goro had expected and he glances up at Akira again. “How the fuck were you running around with this injury?”

“Adrenaline, probably…” Akira murmurs again. He rests his head against the wall, and Goro leans forward and tugs the duffel bag off of his shoulder. He digs through it, hoping to find medical supplies but all he finds are a mixture of his and Akira’s clothes, not even the travel medical kit in the deepest parts of the bag. 

Because of the lack of gauze and cleaning supplies, Goro picks one of his shirts and rips it into more accommodating shapes for a bandage. Even though he’s silent, Akira watches him with a careful eye. 

“Sorry…” Akira says as Goro begins to wrap the torn fabric around his leg.

“Shut up.” Goro glares at the injury. “Let me take care of you.” A pause. “I want to,” he adds on quietly. He works for a couple of minutes, ties a careful but tight knot. “You know you didn’t have to do any of this.”

“And you know you didn’t have to follow me,” Akira laughs even though his voice only expresses his pain. 

“I mean it, Akira,” he keeps his voice low as he reaches for Akira’s hand. He moves as close as he can do Akira, cradling Akira’s hand to his chest with both of his. “It would have been easier for you to not interfere.” Akira snorts at the comment, as if Goro has told a joke he doesn’t understand. “But you did. I’m familiar enough with the ideas of Joker and the Phantom Thieves and personal experience that I know it’s hard to do what you did. And dealing with your choice isn’t going to be easy…” 

Goro turns Akira’s hand over, entwines Akira’s fingers with his. Finding the words is the hardest part in all of this. He’s always been content with being the person who would tell the facts as they were in the harshest way possible. It was Akira who was best for such kindness, with his honeyed words, always knowing what to say. In hindsight, maybe it was because Akira had always been good at finding the truth, more than Goro had even realized in their time living together. 

Goro feels something wet press against his cheek, sees Akira’s lean away as Goro looks up, and realizes that he hadn’t noticed Akira moving again, shifting so they sit in an awkward tangle of limbs. Yet despite the aches and injuries, having Akira so close is comforting in the midst of this impromptu experience. 

“Thank you. I’ll be okay,” Akira says. “I’m just glad… you’re still here…” Akira sets his head on Goro’s shoulder again, and Goro sneaks a hand behind the hood so he can slip his hand into Akira’s hair, his fingers clumsily fiddling with the locks. 

“I won’t leave,” Goro promises. There was still much to be discussed, answers Goro didn’t know, consequences to face, but he hears Akira’s breaths slow and Goro moves his hand to check Akira’s pulse, beating at a slow but constant rate, and he keeps his fingers there so he can feel that he is alive even in the silence, even in uncertainty, while he waits for whoever is meant to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> This was one of the prompts I had a really hard time figuring out an idea for. The only idea I had formed when I saw the prompts was that I wanted Akira to kill someone, most likely off-screen. Once this specific idea finally hit me it became really easy to think of some ideas for it, and I’m glad I didn’t have to go with one of the more vague ideas I initially thought of. 
> 
> Also, the title is a song lyric from Guillotine by Jon Bellion. The line was (somehow) what inspired the idea for this piece and I figured it sorta fit as a title so I kept it lol. 
> 
> I’m also on twitter @maleficaster.


End file.
